Hero (Alpha Mountain 1)

Buck’s breath continued to heave, and he didn’t answer for a moment. “You can’t fucking do this. The drug investigation you had me ask him about—”

“What in the fuck did I just tell you?” The guy snarled. “It’s none of your goddamn business. Are you going to keep your mouth shut, or are we digging two graves today? Trust me, sailor, I have no problem leaving you here. It would make it easy to hang that man’s death on you, so your family doesn’t get a penny of your death benefits. Is that what you want?”

After a long pause, Buck dragged in a breath and said, “No, sir.”

“Then shut up and help Tully get rid of the body.”

“Yes, sir.”

The video showed dizzying movement accompanied by Buck’s still frenzied breath as he moved toward the body, and then it cut out.

Oh my God. Was that the murder that had been pinned on him? It had to have been if he’d been worried about it enough to send me the memory card of it before he died.

The threat had been plain. Whoever had been speaking could have simply carried out his threat a few weeks later.

Did that mean they’d killed more than one local? Why? It had something to do with drugs.

I sat back in my chair and closed my eyes, willing the nausea the video had ignited to calm down.

I had the report of the man’s death on my bulletin board. Knew his name and now knew exactly how he’d died.

“Buck,” I moaned aloud. God, my poor brother. Trapped into something terrible that went against his moral code, and he’d tried to do the right thing. Clearly, he’d taken the video in secret. The guy in charge, the one who’d hassled him, hadn’t known it was recorded. Then Buck had sent me the evidence for safekeeping. Because it had been important enough to sneak out in a gift for me.

I gasped, slapping my hand over my mouth. That was why Buck’s last words to Ford were about protecting me! He wasn’t just playing big brother! He was trying to tell Ford I had the evidence!

Ford recognized the necklace. He’d said they’d been together when Buck had bought it at a local bazaar. Ford hadn’t mentioned anything about hiding something inside. He hadn’t known. Sure, he’d been lying to me, but he’d have snagged it off my neck first thing if he’d been aware. Buck had kept Ford in the dark too.

Goosebumps raced along my arms, and I got up to pace.

There were at least three members of the US military in the video. Buck, some commanding officer whose face I never saw, and the guy, Tully.

Were they part of the Army Ranger team Buck had been pulled onto before he died? The guy called Tully had a slightly different uniform than the ones I’d seen Buck wearing in pictures he’d emailed. Was that important? I had no idea.

I sped back to my desk chair when an idea occurred to me. Pulling up Facebook, I searched for Army Ranger Tully.

My heart leaped to my throat when it produced a few results… but one had a face I recognized from the dim video.

That man, Cameron Tully from Russell Shoals, Texas, was the real killer—not Buck. Maybe he’d set the bomb in Buck’s Jeep, not the enemy.

So what had Buck been doing the day he got killed? Had he been lured to his death by someone on that team? Because I sure as hell knew he wasn’t buying drugs.

Tears stung my eyes thinking how Buck must’ve suffered emotionally leading up to his death. That murder would’ve weighed on his conscience. I’m guessing he’d known something was off from the beginning of that recorded interview, or he wouldn’t have activated his camera.

Or maybe they always had them on, what did I know?

Ford might have answers about that. Except he didn’t because he didn’t know. He’d said the guys were looking into it, into clearing Buck’s record and even his own. They’d have done it by now if successful.

My irritation with Ford was still fresh, but he needed this video. He’d know what to do with it. This wasn’t something I could figure out on my own. This wasn’t searching online and writing to people in the military about my dead brother.

God, that video was… evil.

I took the tiny memory card out of my computer and dropped it in an envelope, along with the pieces of the necklace, in case they were relevant. I sealed it and wrote Ford’s name on the front.

I couldn’t handle talking to him tonight—between our fight and this sickening revelation, I didn’t have anything left in me. I’d go to bed and drop the envelope by Ford’s place in the morning before I went out on the trip.

Whether he and I worked out our differences, Ford needed to see the truth. I owed Buck that much.